05 June 2014

The Church that Jesus Christ built

IT IS A biblical fact that
the Lord Jesus Christ established a Church. No one denies this truth because it
is explicitly written in the Bible. In Matthew 16:18 the Lord Jesus Christ said:

“And
I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail
against it.” (Matthew 16:18 NKJV, emphasis
mine)

Etymologically speaking, the word
“church” is the English translation of the Greek word “ekklesia” which
literally means an “assembly.” However, although this word was already in used
before the Lord Jesus Christ used it, but we must understand this word as used
by the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles, or as used in the New Testament.

Thus we must understand the word “Church”
through what the Bible teaches about it. What is the “Church” built by Christ
according to the Bible?

AN
ORGANIZATION

The Lord Jesus Christ called His
Church as “flock” to which the Father gave His kingdom:

“Do
not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.” (Luke 12:32 NKJV)

Even Apostle Paul explicitly
called the Church of Christ as the “flock” the Lord Jesus Christ purchased with
His blood:

“Take
heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock, over which the Holy Spirit
has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has
purchased with his blood.” (Acts 20:28 Lamsa)

The word “flock” means “a group”
(Encarta Dictionary, Microsoft 2004-2009). It is the “body” where those called
belong:

“And
let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one
body; and be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15 NKJV)

One of the definitions of the
word “organization” the dictionaries gave is “a group of people identified with shared interest or purpose” (Encarta
Dictionary, Microsoft 2004-2009). Thus, when the Lord Jesus Christ established
a Church, He established an organization.

ONE BODY OF
CHRIST

Apostle Paul explicitly said that
the one body of Christ where those called belong is the Church:

“For
the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his
body, of which he is the Savior.” (Ephesians 5:23 NIV)

As the body of Christ, the Church
is composed of many members:

“Just
as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have
the same function,so in Christ we who
are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans
12:4-5 NIV)

Thus, the belief that the Church
the Lord Jesus Christ built is “a conglomeration
of churches” contradicts the teachings of the Bible. The Bible explicitly teaches
that the Church is composed of “many members” and not “many churches.” The
Bible said, “just as each of us has one
body with many members...so in Christ we who are many form one body...”

This verse refutes not only the
belief that the Church Christ built is “a
conglomeration of churches,” but also the belief that “the Church of Christ is composed of believers in Christ from different
religious groups.” The Bible said, “so
in Christ we who are many FORM ONE BODY, and EACH MEMBER BELONGS TO ALL THE
OTHERS.”

Members of the Church of Christ
are “all joined to each other as
different parts of one body.” Today’s English Version rendered Romans
12:4-5 as follows:

“We
have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions.
In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and
we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body.” (Romans 12:4-5
TEV)

Thus, the Church established by
Christ is not a “conglomeration of churches,” and not a “conglomeration of
believers belonging to different religious groups.” The Church that Christ
built is “one body” and He Himself is the head, and the Church is composed of
many members but all joined together to each other as different parts of the
one body.

ONE ORGANIZED
CHURCH

The Church established by Christ
is not only composed of many members, but members have different functions:

“Now
ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in
the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that
miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” (I
Corinthians 12:27-28 KJV)

The Lord God had set a
“government” inside the Church. Thus, He appointed different Church officials like
apostles, prophets and teachers. God also appointed evangelists and pastors:

“And
He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some
pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ,” (Ephesians 4:11-12 NKJV)

The Church that Christ built also
has one spirit, one hope, one faith and one baptism:

“There
is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your
calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” (Ephesians 4:4-5 NKJV)

Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ
established one organized Church.

A RELIGION

When the Lord Jesus Christ built
the Church, He also established a religion because the Church He established is
a religion, the religion where the apostles and true Christians belong:

“But
if I delay, this letter will let you know how we should conduct ourselves in
God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support
of the truth. 16No one can deny how great is the secret of our religion...” (I
Timothy 3:15-16 TEV)

Thus, when the Lord Jesus Christ
established His Church, He established the true Christian religion.

CONCLUSION

Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ built
one organized Church. The Church He established is an organization, a religious
organization, a Christian organization. The Church that the Lord Jesus Christ
built is a religion, the true Christian religion.

Because the Lord Jesus Christ
established only one Church, He established only one Christian organization,
one Christian religion.

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